Wireless local area networks (WLANs) allow data communication devices to connect to a computer network without a wired connection and provide great mobility to users. Nowadays, WLANs are widely deployed in homes, commercial establishments, organizations, as well as government environments.
A device that supports wireless data communication in a WLAN is known as a wireless station (STN). Client devices such as mobile devices, laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, workstations or peripheral devices connected to the WLAN are all examples of wireless stations.
Each wireless station is equipped with a data connection device known as a wireless network interface controller (WNIC) to facilitate WLAN operation. Wireless stations typically connect to the WLAN through access points (APs). APs transmit and receive radio frequency signals to facilitate wireless data communication between a wireless station and other devices connected to the WLAN. While WLANs provide great flexibility and mobility, the open nature of wireless communication environment has necessitated the use of authentication mechanisms to authenticate the identity of a device before allowing that device to access the WLAN as a client. Description of Figures